Trust in the Divine Mercy
The Door of the Confession Box by Fr. John Harris
For God, each of us is special, each has his or her own journey to make, that is why the Church insists, out of mercy, that we go to individual confession. For Jesus we are not a face in a crowd or just a number. Jesus speaking as the Good Shepherd teaches us: the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, one by one he calls his own sheep.
Read more: The Door of the Confession Box by Fr. John Harris OP
The Importance of Silence for our Souls
by Fr. Eamonn Bourke
“Silence is a sword in the spiritual struggle; a talkative soul will never attain sanctity. A silent soul is strong; no adversities will harm it if it perseveres in silence. The silent soul is capable of attaining the closest union with God. It lives almost always under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; God works in a silent soul without hindrance.”
Read more: The Importance of Silence for our Souls by Fr. Eamonn Bourke
With these words Pope Francis officially opened the Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy, beginning on 8th December 2015: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth”.
The Way Forward
by Fr. John Harris
When St. Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in October 1979 he laid a challenge before us when he spoke in Limerick: “The Irish people have to choose today their way forward. Will it be the transformation of all strata of humanity into a new creation, or the way that many nations have gone, giving excessive importance to economic growth and material possessions, while neglecting the things of the spirit?
See beyond the Barriers between you and Christ
by Fr. Adrian Farrelly
What do you seek?
In St. John’s Gospel, the Apostle writes that two disciples were following Jesus and he asked them what they wanted from him. Jesus said, “What do you seek?” and they replied that they wanted to follow him, and he replied, “Come and see”.
Read more: See beyond the Barriers between you and Christ by Fr. Adrian Farrelly
The People of Goodwill
by Fr. Eamonn Bourke
“When I see someone else’s good, I rejoice at it as if it were mine. The joy of others is my joy, and the suffering of others is my suffering, for otherwise I would not dare to commune with the Lord Jesus”.
(St. Maria Faustina Kowalska - Diary No. 633)
The Importance of Praying for Vocations to the Priesthood
by Fr. John Harris
I had the wonderful privilege a number of years ago of going on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was indeed a trip of a lifetime. It was a great spiritual joy to walk where our Blessed Lord walked, to see the country He saw and to be in the sacred sites where He saved the world. Having been to the Holy Land, one reads the Gospels in a different way; for you have been in the places that you read about; you have sat in the places where the mysteries took place.
Read more: The Importance of Praying for Vocations to the Priesthood
Gratitude for God's Gifts in your Life
by Fr. Adrian Farrelly OP
We feel good when someone says “Thank You”. You know you are appreciated and your kindness has been acknowledged. I knew an American priest who used give retreats in Ireland. He was always grateful for any little thing you would do. Not only would he say ‘thank you’ once, he would say it three times – “thank you, thank you, thank you!” He always made me feel good about myself. Saying ‘thanks’ goes a long way.
Entrust Your Day to the Lord
by Fr. Eamonn Bourke
Depressing Commercial News
Listening to the commercial news broadcasters every day, you would form the impression that we live in a dark sinister world, where there are no good and decent people left. After we watch the news, we are left anxious and even a little depressed as there seems to be nothing but bad news everywhere. People dying, violence, etc, often fill our screens and we wonder what it’s all about. Newspapers, TV or radio rarely bring good news. The more dramatic the better. “If it bleeds it leads” as the newspaper adage goes. News editors need people to read or listen to what they’re selling or else they’re out of a job.
Everyone is all too aware of the painful side of being a human. Feeling afraid or sad or angry is agony and we will do anything to make it stop, which can actually make things even worse. One of the true joys of being a Christian is being able to turn to Jesus and seek comfort from Him.
Each of the Gospels records the day Jesus asked His Disciples what were people saying about Him. Jesus began by asking, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus then asked them, “But you, who do you say that I am?” [Matt. 16:15]
When we think of our favourite saints, we tend to imagine that they all spent their whole lives living in serene peace and that everything was rosy in the garden all the time. When we look at their photographs, artwork or statues, we might be tempted to think that they lived in pure spiritual bliss.
The Beautiful Heart of St. Faustina
On the 27th February 1938, St. Faustina recorded in her Diary, ‘Today, I went to confession to Father Andrasz. I did as Jesus wanted. After confession, a surge of light filled my soul. Then I heard a voice, “Because you are a child, you shall remain close to My Heart. Your simplicity is more pleasing to Me than your mortifications”. (Diary 1617)
“I learned how much we need perseverance in prayer and that our salvation often depends on such difficult prayer” (St. Faustina - Diary 157)
When We Pray
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, when speaking about prayer, has a really wonderful sentence which says that, “prayer is our response to the God, who has already entered the reality of our existence”. In other words, when we pray, we are responding to God’s loving invite, which is being continually offered to us.
Perfect Families by Fr. John Harris
Over the holidays, I met with some friends and we were talking about events during the past year. One friend, who has a very unhappy marriage, asked, ‘why people continue to tell lies about life?’ Concerned, we asked her what she meant. She said that people continue to talk about love, marriage and families, as if they are all meant to be perfect but our lived experiences tell us a very different story.
Recollection by Fr. Eamonn Bourke
No time to pray
Our days are often filled with so many things to do. No matter what age you are, or stage in life, busyness seems to be the hallmark of all our lives. We might not even be filling our days with important or wholesome things, but the days just seem to waft by.
by Fr. John Harris OP
During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, we are all invited to go on ‘The Journey to Mercy’. Very often, mercy can seem to be something outside of ourselves. It can seem like a thing to be received, or given away. It is more true to see mercy as a journey. It is the Christian’s journey towards trust.
Many of us are all familiar with the expression, “To err is human, but to forgive is Divine.” This basically means that, as humans, we all make mistakes, but the ability to forgive those mistakes does not come naturally but is a gift from God. Christ only taught us one prayer, the “Our Father” At the heart of this prayer are the lines “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
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Our Lady Untier of Knots
Unfailing Novena to Our Lady Untier (Undoer) of Knots, a wonderful nine-day prayer to Our Lady. This is Pope Francis' favourite Novena. One of the fastest growing Marian Devotions in the world.
Click this link to view: Our Lady Untier of Knots Prayer Book